Monday, January 26, 2015

Number Match to 50

Better late than never, I hope!  I try to get my Monday freebies out earlier in the day, but there was a terrible car wreck on our street.  A car slammed into a utility pole that, of course, disrupted internet service.  It's back on, and I can now present today's Monday Freebie!

http://freepdfhosting.com/1cea0693cd.pdf
 
Ta Da!  This one helps students practice numbers, number words, place value, and expanded notation through the number 50.

 

 
The actual PDF is much clearer.  Just print, laminate, and cut out the pieces.  The students will match the ice cream scoops to the cones.  Of course you can leave out certain scoops for certain students -- I love it when centers can be differentiated.  This is a skill the students really need to practice in order to internalize. The cherry is optional, of course, but that seems to be the favorite part!  If you would like a free download, simply click on the top picture and enjoy!
 
Now for my Monday Freebie from Teachers Pay Teachers.  Eugenia's Learning Tools has a cute Winter Freebie with 2 separate Graphic Organizers.  They are engaging and perfect to help students break down their thinking into manageable pieces.  I actually thought of taking the snowman to help organize some of my blogging ideas!  Be sure to click on the picture below to grab this freebie while it's cold!
 
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREEBIE-Sample-of-Graphic-Organizers-for-the-Winter-1573208
 

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Pre-Primer Sight Word List 1/8

I have had a pretty rough week.  I have struggled against, and WON, two different types of cancer.  This week I had a follow up test on thyroid cancer.  You never know how important a thyroid is until it's gone.  For this test I had to get two shots to make the medication that helps substitute my thyroid inactive.  This means I spent the week with extreme fatigue.  I went to work, somehow made it through, then came home and collapsed.  I will get the result tomorrow, but I already know it's going to be a good report.

During this down time, I worked on a new freebie I am really excited about.  I have made a set of activities to use with the Pre-Primer Sight Words.  There are 40 in the list, but I have separated them into 8 different sets.  The first set is free!  Each set will have 5 words and as the list of words grow, so will the activities.

Here are some fun things in Set 1:

 
Instead of watches I have seen that are difficult to cut out, I made "bracelets".

 
Love the bookmarks!

 
Color by Sight Word is a good way to reinforce reading skills.

 
These little flip books will be used over and over again.

 
Each word has a worksheet that covers a variety of skills.
 
 
This first set covers the words a, and, away, big, blue.
 
If you would like to download a free copy of this first set, just click on the picture below!
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pre-Primer-Word-Activities-Set-1-of-8-1657609
 
 
Does your school teach these words in a specific order?  Leave a comment below with your email address and I will happily change the order of some of the words. 


Because I want to make Monday a happy day, I started a series last week where I am featuring a free Teachers Pay Teachers product.  I love K's Kreations because her freebie is a quick center that is cute and a great review.  Simply print, laminate, cut and go.  It's a matching number word with the numbers to 20 with a tenframe. Please note it does not include every number between 1 - 20.  You should check out her store because she has other great things there as well!  Click on the picture below to grab this freebie!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/KCC3-Snowman-Counting-0-20-FREEBIE-1057414


Monday, January 12, 2015

My New Obsession

As you can tell by the fancy widget on the right, I have a Teachers Pay Teachers store.  I do not want this blog to become a giant advertisement, but I have to let you know the positive impact it is making.  But first, my Monday Freebie!

http://freepdfhosting.com/4ded2b6f7b.pdf


Ta da!  This is one of my favorite writing tools I used in my classroom.  It has a secret weapon I will explain in a minute.  The purpose of this template is to have students organize thoughts for a paragraph.  The students put their main idea in the "cloud" on top.  Then they write three supporting ideas in the boxes below.  Finally, they write their conclusion sentence in the cloud on the right.  The conclusion is meant to restate the main idea, so that is why they are basically the same shape.
 
Now for the secret weapon.  In standardized testing, students are given a blank page to prewrite their thoughts before drafting and the final draft.  Soooo, after a few weeks and the students are comfortable with the first page, I give them this...
 


And then this...

 
 Until we reach this...
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/180-Days-Of-Reading
 
The students visually remember the template and slowly I take away some of the support so they can have a clearly organized paragraph independently!  If you would like the free download, click on the first picture or click here.
 
On to my new obsession!  What has amazed me about Teachers Pay Teachers is the community of support.  There is no feel of competition between stores.  You can ask for feedback on the forums and receive well thought out responses that help make your products even better.  Teachers Pay Teachers requires each store to upload a free product in order for teachers to see the quality of their work.  Many teachers give much more than that.
 
I plan to link a Teachers Pay Teachers product I think might be helpful every Monday as well.  The first one is created by 180 Days of Reading.  This is a quick and easy game that can go into center time in a flash!  It has 6 templates covering all of the short vowel sounds as well as a page that mixes it up for a challenge.  Enjoy!
 
 

 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVC-words-Winter-Roll-Read-and-Write-1577455

Monday, January 5, 2015

I Have, Who Has ABCs

Aaaaand, we're back!  Most teachers I know went back to school today.  Although we love our students, there is something about coming back after a long break that creates some anxiety.  Or is that just me?  Anxiety could be too strong of a word.  It's hard to get the students back into a routine after a couple of weeks completely off schedule.  Anyway, it's a good Monday for a Freebie pick me up!

http://freepdfhosting.com/aaa603e7c2.pdf
 

 
 
I love these "I Have, Who Has" cards because they are so versatile.  If you check out my previous post, you will find the "I Have, Who Has" number versions.  I hope you find these useful. 
 
I would love to help any teacher with some printables.  If you are reading this, you are one of the very few, and this could be your lucky day!  Leave a comment with your email address and a request of what you would like, and I would be happy to accommodate!  Just remember I am primarily a PreK - 2nd grade teacher for now.

Hoping all my teacher friends find 2015 full of learning adventures!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year!!

Happy 2015!  I am expecting big things this year.  I am cancer free after thyroid and uterine cancer diagnoses, and am feeling better than I have in years.  I had to quit my fulltime classroom job a year and a half ago because I was so weak.  Now I am hopeful I might get a classroom back next school year!  In the meantime I am working one-on-one with hearing impaired students throughout the state.  They are ages 3 - 17, so I have a huge variety of ages to work with.

Today I wanted to share a Math Center I made for my younger students.  I personally think it is a win - win because it takes a little time and the students are always begging for more.  I was inspired after a trip to Lowe's.



I despise Lowe's because my husband could spend all day there.  So, as a teacher I will look at an item and think "OK, what can I do with this?"




I think you might be getting an idea of where I am going with this!


Genius!  I bought the largest screws I could find and numbered them 6 - 10.  Then I bought several matching nuts for each screw.  I put different math combinations using price tags on each screw, and voila!  A fun math center that the kids love to visit!

And there you have it!  My mind began racing with all of the variations you could make.  Think about putting a letter of the alphabet on each screw and words with initial sounds on the nuts.  (like pair the screw "P" with nuts that have "pig", "pet", and "pan" on the screws.  Once I start thinking like this, my mind is spinning for days!

Hope this inspires you.  Please check my blog every Monday.  That's when I make Freebies to share.